author
Joseph Carey
d. 1913
A turn-of-the-century writer with a deep affection for San Francisco, he captured the city as a lively, fast-changing place at the opening of the 20th century. His best-known book blends local history, travel writing, and civic pride into a vivid portrait of the Pacific Coast.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Joseph Carey, identified in early editions as Joseph Carey, D.D., is known for By the Golden Gate; Or, San Francisco, the Queen City of the Pacific Coast, published in 1902. The book presents San Francisco through its history, streets, institutions, and everyday scenes, showing a writer interested in both storytelling and the character of a growing American city.
The title page also describes him as a member of the American Historical Association, which fits the book's strong historical bent. Rather than writing fiction, Carey seems to have worked in a documentary and descriptive style, aiming to introduce readers to San Francisco's energy, importance, and distinct atmosphere at the start of a new century.
Some catalog records identify him as having died in 1913. Beyond that, reliable biographical details are scarce, but his surviving work offers a clear sense of his interests: urban history, public life, and the drama of a city looking out toward the Pacific.